Resident Evil: The Burnside Chronicles (Story-unfinished)
by Actionsparda
Summary: December 2013: Fifteen years after Code Veronica, Steve has awakened, alive but changed. Can Claire save him? January 2014: After the Tall Oaks incident, the new president's inaugural ball at Camp David turns into an outbreak, stranding Leon and an empowered Ashley stranded with old friends and enemies.


A woodland city street and sidewalks with cobblestones extends from a large secure building. Flags and logo's suggest this to be a university. Through the glass panels on the wooden doors, girls can be seen chatting as they make their way out into the quad. First, a red-head emerges with short curly hair in plead, next a burnet in a hoodie catches up and motions for someone else. Two arms reach from out of view to open the two doors. As the first girls exit, one of the suited men whispers into his sleeve "Roger, subject is leaving the building now."

Out walks a short blond in a skirt, furry orange top and boots. Her short blind hair seems to bounce with her breasts as she laughs and breathes slowly. Catching her breath, she lifts her purse over her shoulder and looks up. RE fans immediately recognize her as Ashley Graham.

In a high-pitched perky voice, she motions them to go ahead, but the secret service ask them to stay together. "Guys were ok on our own going back to the house." Ashley insists.  
"No can do Ma'am. You're all high priority targets and we can't have you all wandering off, we need to stick together." said the mid-size buff African-American serviceman. The burnet stares magically at him, obviously turned on. Her guard laid his hand on Ashley's shoulder and she shrugs him off, before the red-head girl can touch the other serviceman. To hold them back, the man in a suit holds out his arms gently.

The girls talk about the news and election briefly, but soon as the talk along the sidewalk talk shifts to cute boys and singers and what they'll be wearing at the ceremony. The girls wave goodbye to Ashley as they move along. Ashley and her guards prepare to walk down the turn toward her dorm, when a car explodes further out.

Ashley stands there in disbelief.  
A swift wind is heard as the view moves in towards Ashley like a man running, Ashley seems to be moving in slow motion as she turns around. A reflection of the sunlight on a familiar looking blade appears in the white muscular hands from behind the camera. Ashley turns as the man appears right in front of her and begins to scream.

The secret service man calls "Ashley!" as the sound of dodging and pistol fire turns to a mutation sound followed by an impairing noise and the coughing of blood and dying, as well as the soon to be all familiar smell of death.

**RESIDENT EVIL - The Burnside Chronicles**

**Prologue:**

Ashley's head rises up from a blue pillow in a pink nightgown screaming with lightning shining through the side window to the sound of loud thunder and the sheets of rain pouring outside.

She managed to calm down and curls up into a ball with her legs out in front if her, sobbing.  
She had the nightmare again.

Ashley yawned some hours later and hits the alarm clock with her hand. A house keeper opened the blinds and said. "Time to wake up Ms. Graham, it's the big day."

Ashley slips out of her clothes and walks over in her feet to bathroom, She begins to run the water and goes into the steamy shower. A small television in the other room was now on. She could hear from the loud volume talks about the inaugural ball and the vice-president officially coming into his first official term in office as Commandeer in Chief... after the events of Tall Oaks.

Popular subjects of the elections were the economy, job growth, and bio warfare. At this point a dark hand reaches out towards the TV and turns the volume down on the television Ashley did no remember having turned on in the first place.

It went on to mention years ago today about the president's daughter Ashley Graham being kidnapped walking home after class at her college in Massachusetts with two senators' daughters and the secret service, leaving one guard dead, cut through his waist. Since then, security has been an even bigger issue and as Ms. Graham continues to support self-defense classes for young women. Even as the new presidents family takes office there is still the eluding feel of another plot related to BOW's, having received similar threats to the FBI to those just before the kidnapping.

Ashley had just shut the water off and reached out for a towel. She heard a noise and asks who is there. Slowly she moves the glass door of the shower and screams, backing up for and reaching for a tub scrubbed, but quickly covers up with the towel as she responds to another woman screaming. The screen flips around to show agent Hunnigan sitting in the room, guarding her per request.

"You never did get use to this before, did you?", Hunnigan said.  
"One more day, Ingrid; then I get to cut you loose." Ashely replies and they smile meekly at each other.

Ashley had been staying with Agent Ingrid Hunnigan since her arrival to the area for the party under personal security requests. After the threats were made on the traditional building the party was to be held at, in addition to moving the location by recommendation to Camp David, all of the more high profile guests were required to stay with an agent.

Ashley had made a request for a particular agent, but when he was found unavailable se decided that as would instead rather stay alone. However, she found out the very agent that was unavailable had instead recommended a personal friend of his to stay with her so Ashley would not feel so awkward being with a secret service security guard after so many years not wing the presidents daughter. After all, it was 2014 now and Ashley was 25 years old going on 26 this upcoming month. She had changed a lot upon graduation and had done her best since her kidnapping to become a strong independent woman.

That very day she arrived at a female self-defense class, talking to the group as a guest speaker before showing a move or two in demonstration. It seems to do a number on the buff target.

She then met up with a few friends for coffee outside of a café, secret service still around. She talks about how she missed some of these guys looking back, especially Joey who gave his life trying to save her.

Ashley at one point thinks she sees something in the distance, but realizes its' just her nerves still acting up since her bad dreams had started back up recently, and now of all times. Saddened a little, her friends manage to cheer her up as they all continue to gossip and chat.

Finally, she is applying eyeliner, looking into the mirror as she admires her pink dress and steps out to get her ride for the party.

They arrive at the secluded Camp David for a sort of send off party held by the old first family, their close supporters gathered. This, the secret services last time with the family, Ashley could be seen searching for none other than her close guard and friend, Leon S. Kennedy.

It had been nearly 10 years since Ashley had really gotten to spend any quality time with her friend and secret crush Leon Kennedy. He had been through a lot himself, so at first he was hesitant in ways about seeing him. However, this was also her only real official White House event in a long time as well, so she realized that if she didn't see him now...she may never see him again.

As she looks, she runs into a beautifully dressed in red young woman. When she apologizes, she quickly recognizes her as the person from the Terra Save articles she had read about involving Leon and an outbreak at an airport. It was Claire Redfield!

Shocked to finally meet her in person, they talked about events and Leon. Apparently Claire's name has come up quite often with Leon, to Claire's surprise and slight embarrassment. Of course, Ashley only has a few social media messages to base this all on. She asks why Claire hasn't been in touch with him for so long, when she is led away by family friends. Being distracted, Ashley does not see what has happened to Clare. She assumes that she too is apparently searching for her longtime friend Leon within the estate.

Finally, sitting outside with some family friends, she looks up to see Leon, shaking hands with a passerby, congratulating him on all he has done in service for the country and world. He is completely decked out with the standard black jacket and aviator shades, earpiece and all for work.

"Leon!" She calls out. Boy does her scream still startle and bring back memories. He relaxes and looks out to see her running in high-heel shoes to him. "Ashley." They embrace. "I was worried I wouldn't get to see you, after everything that's happened."Ashley panted from sprinting, giving Leon a slight chuckle.

"Yeah, I've been super busy, but it's really good to see you." Leon replied.  
"You too, Leon." She smiles and goes to kiss his cheek when the man on the communicator comes on.  
"Saved by the bell." Ashley thought, being upset, as her male idol had to bid her farewell so quickly and abruptly ending their heartfelt conversation.  
Did he not care? Was hd trying to avoid her? Was Ashley just a responsibility, or even a pain in the ass to Leon?  
Or was Leon just being an ass?  
Ashley calmed herself, realising the importance and sacrifice of his line of work. It's quite possible that upon seeing so much death and not having barely any free time that Leon tried not to get involved too much with people.

Oh well, at least she tried...

Ashley walked back inside the main hall afterwards where the party seems to be going strong. She looks around for Claire but didn't see her anywhere. While looking and talking with family, friends and contributors, she sees a familiar looking burnet with short hair and a purple dress. Not wanting to get Leon's hopes up, she decides not to bring it up to him.

I mean, why would "she" be here of all places?

It was a beautiful summer evening, but there was a thunderstorm in the distance, close enough to hear the bolts, even with the music and television on very loud and the constant talking of friends and family. The secret service had a security camera terminal that surrounded the area. Most of the guards were inside the lobby or at the party, thinking that if anything a drunken relative or two might get out of hand. No one could see anyone looking for something from any member of the staff or their friends and family.

They were wrong.

...

The guards in the watchtowers surrounding the property could be heard checking in with each other and the main facility in the security building and camera room on a nearby section of the grounds. This took place every thirty minutes. The rustling nightlife in the woods was a common thing, something that everyone was accustomed to, just like the check in they did with each other. All was standard routine procedure that hadn't really changed in several years, common knowledge to a trained soldier guard...

Or an ex...

K1 through K12 all checked in with the random leader for that night, the guard in tower nine. Even during the summer weather it got cold enough for one to see his breath, as the captain in K9 did, as all the others. He heard a fairly constant rustling that evening, but one in particular had caught his ear. Still, he just assumed things like that ran throughout all the woods and that the other towers could see it all too.  
Unfortunately for them and thousands more there at Camp David

He was right.

Tower 12 reported to number 9 as some rustling in the trees occurred. A light bird like landing on the roof of the guard tower followed that as the final report was put in. He called into the control room. "This is tower leader, area is secure, ovAAK."

The agent in the monitor room heard weird noise over the end of the transmutation, but it just seemed like he probably let of to early on the walkie-talkie. The man in the monitor room continued with his sandwich. He knew he shouldn't, but he could hear the noises of eating sloppily from tower nines transmutation.  
"Wait, if he let of early, how..." with a snapping noise, the guards' grip on the device was released and the main control room thought nothing more of it all.

In the moonlight, one could see a rope-like structure attached to the roof of the towers, and each one seemed to contain a human shape leaning down and feasting on something, like they couldn't get enough.

Soon, loud thunderous sounds could be heard in the distance, like things falling from the sky. They continued moderately throughout the party, assumed to be more thunder booms. One even seemed to make the ground shake a little.

Huge lines of movement would be seen in the bushes by the guards in the tower. Forms hunched over and tripping, but moving quickly. However, all of the guards seemed hunched over in their towers eating. Whatever it was they were eating must have been huge. Then one could see a hand dropped over the side of one of the towers. The other could be traced back into the tower, where it gripped the walkie-talkie firmly on the ground. This hand could not be followed back, as it was not connected to the body it belonged to.

"Hu, this is some storm." A guest said at the last of the booms were heard." Leon had found Ashley and were talking nearby as the man asked for the tv to be switched from the presidential inauguration party back in DC to the weather channel.

When he was refused, he checked his phone to look at his weather app, only to find that the storm had already moved through a while ago.

Leon and Ashley continued to talk about the recent past, for with their different roles in government they had not been able to see each other for so long. Ashley missed having him around when she did as the presidents daughter and with Leon for her protection. Leon said he'd always look out for her whenever he could. If something happened to her, he would be there in a heartbeat.  
He joked about not getting paid for it now, and she laughed so hard she cried a little. Leon volunteered to get her a tissue.

Meanwhile outside, blue pumps could be seen hooked to the AC outside where some older ones once lay. The construction services there had their own measure if security and over watch, so the SS didn't bother asking about it much or thinking it a threat.

Also, a man had walked outside for a smoke when he saw a big figure (probably service due to his muscular body type) hunched over by the vehicles used to take the people to and from the airstrip where Air Force One and the other passenger planes had landed. As it turns out there was a special runway made nearby and refurbished just for passengers to the event from other airplanes.

The man notices a dark hulking figure in the near distance, almost more buff than he was.  
He seemed to be looking for something as he coughed."Hey buddy, looking for a light." the man said. The dark figure got up slowly and turned around, blood spewing from its mouth as if it were a zombie!

However, it responded "If you insist."

Ashley went searching for Leon and thy chatted some more about what their future had in store for them. Leon said he planned to stick with security and, speaking of which, thought he'd go upstairs to check on the group. Ashley was kind of sad to see him go again, but just took the tissue he gave her and walked away, feeling a bit blown off. She thought he might have really been looking for Claire and began her search.

She found the Asian from earlier. Curiously, she went to get a better view and couldn't believe her eyes as the flashback of a woman on the island he was trapped on so many years ago flashed in her head, matching the woman she was seeing now.

She couldn't believe it and doubted Leon would even take her seriously that she saw the woman Leon had talked to her about on and off the island like he did about Claire. Ashley struggled to remember the name she had ears before as she moved to a better vantage point.

Now she was certain this time she saw Ada Wong from her rescue four years ago talking now with...Claire!? She rushed for Leon and searched again for the stairs he went up. It turns out there were many flights and floors. Three levels with three basement levels accessed by a freight elevator near where she saw Ada. Ashley caught up to Leon, all out of breath.

As she did this, the man with the cigarette could be seen against a red blinking device on one of the cars.

Leon asked what was wrong but all he could make out was "Just now, and...earlier..."

The bloody figure looked out into the rustling woods as the camera rose up to his face, showing pliers attached to a cable with a lock on the ground next to empty gas cans.

"Earlier what? What's wrong Ashley?" Leon replied.

Back outside, the face of a familiar looking soldier was lit by the dead man's lighter, igniting his cigarette.  
Despite the storm being nowhere close, the car was wet.  
He said: "Let the end..."

as Ashley said to Leon "I saw..."

"...begin." as he tossed the cigarette to the Jeep behind him  
The cigarette butt flew slowly, glowing and smoking as the man moved at a seemingly abnormal pace.

"Ada!" Ashley said.  
"Ada!?" Leon replied.  
"Uh Hu, and..."

The cigarette hit the vehicle and ignited it in flames as Ashley began to move her lips to finish her sentence.

Several explosions began as the muscular man fiddled with the pliers on the power-box. At this, the people back in the party turn toward outside and the secret service ran to check, some staying behind to protect the guests, calling to the control room through their sleeves.  
There was no reply.

As several of the guards outside exited the door, they were met with two hulking bodies as they were bitten. One by one they dropped like flies... Only to rise again...

As the last of the cars exploded, the muscular figure pulled out a knife and effortlessly slashed downwardly to open the metal cover over the concealed circuitry finally, with his pliers, the man plucked a wire, and when the light went from red to green stabbed the red conjunction box inside.

In the reflection of the downed guard's glasses, the bright light of the circuits frying faded to show the burning fire's reflection, and zoomed in quickly to show rows of hungry looking undead ready to move in!

As sparks flew from the lights overhead, Leon covered Ashley at the last minute of her sentence in protection. His job as a guard was not over yet.

As the secret service inside began to relay instructions to the crowd, the sparks from he power failure in the now dark building began to show bodies jumping through the many windows of the foyer. People seemed to be biting people left and right and shots were fired.

Ashley slowly looked up in trauma over many of the familiar faces from tonight and her time in the White House, as they began to either suffer painfully, attack other bodies monstrously as mere shells of their former selves or both. Her gloves hand covered her mouth in horror as a shocked Ashley was startled by Leon pulling her by the hand as her free arm was yanked over to another location.

Leon and Ashley ran to the control room to see what the problem was as two secret service men left their posts in front of the power room door to go downstairs, their red and blue key cards flailing around their necks.

"Agent Kennedy!" One yelled. "What's happening? I can't get anything on the radio, but the electric locks are working perfectly.

As this chaos continued, a hand turned the silver valves on the blue gas containers outside and soon, the bottom floors were covered with blue gas just as Leon and Ashley made to safely above it to the second floor. As people chocked, more began to fall subject to the infection, spreading out and going after those who fled through the door and windows, the majority only to suffer a faster death from the waiting zombies outside.

Leon and Ashley got to a locked metal door upstairs and searched for a way to open it, the gas from the floors below slowly beginning to rise up the stairs after them.

The man monitoring the situation on the main Survailance room seemed to have dropped his sandwich, and had just gotten up putting it back into his mouth, only to drop his jaw at the sigh of the carnage taking place, most people being slaughtered and rising again rapidly while a group of black suits ran off with a man and the rest leaving with another group of men and women, some protected and some falling subject to this painful death. Also, in the corner of the monitor screen, a man could be seen for a split second outside laughing and quickly vanished in a blur across the screen, as two women in dresses walked through the B1 floor out of the elevator and over a small water storage pit. The man at the screens began loosing it and as he heard banging at the door, he was to far gone to hear the people outside and initiated a security lockdown.

Suddenly all the windows and doors to the outside sealed shut with metal, as people beneath screamed out in terror and were silence with a disgusting squish beneath people followed, slipping on the blood and banging on the doors, panicking as the dead slowly approached from behind.

A few small rooms with metal doors changed from red to blue, initiating safe zones, the security room changed from green and blue lights to blue and red. The guard inside the monitor room reached for a gun with tears in his eyes and pointed it toward his throat. The shot was drowned out by the final set of bullets from downstairs as the rest of the remaining guests at the party still in the building succumbed to this virus.

**Chapter 1: Airborne  
Leon and Ashley**

_Mission 1: Reach the Panic Room_

Leon and Ashley saw the blue gas begin to flood into the hallway and covered their mouths. Leon took Ashely's hand and led her further up floors to one of the unlocked safe rooms. The first lone zombie was a man in a suit for the party. They were able to avoid him and run around. Soon, debris was blocking their path and the had to work together to move it. Two more zombies came out of nowhere.

Ashley had dove forward to dodge and landed near a fallen security guard, his gun still tight in his hands.  
Meanwhile Leon began to fight with his bare hands, trying to move the other zombie out of the way so he could draw his gun and reach Ashley

Leon rushed to help her up, when the second zombie had recovered and dove for his neck behind him. Leon had only time to turn around and see the putrid zombie's rotting flesh over its face...

...followed by a flash and a splat as a large gusher of blood spewed out of the undead abomination's head.  
He turned to see Ashley standing there panting...with a smoking gun in her hand.

"Leon!" Ashley yelled and pointed her new firearm behind him.  
Leon was fast enough this time to dart out of the way of the first zombie, and this time he was able to draw his gun before the zombie reached him. Bang!

The zombie was forced back from the gun's impact as the other monster rose to its feet beside it.  
Leon and Ashley stood their ground and prepared...  
"Now! Fire!"  
As if they were doing this for ages as pros all their life, the two survivors pulled their triggers, and the brains of the remaining fallen men splattered over the walls as the remnants of their bodies dropped to the floor.

As a mob of undead began breaking through the debris Leon and Ashley had set aside, they were forced to run. They ran up a flight of stairs to discover more secret secret service men that were still alive and had stayed behind valiantly to hold the enemy off as the Leon and Ashley, the last and only two survivors, made their way to safety.

At the next flight of stairs, zombies and rubble had begun to fall down. Stepping over corpses and dodging falling debris, they jumped as the wooden stairs gave away from out beneath their feet and pulled themselves up to the final floor.

Finally they had reached the metal panic room and pressed the button... only for steam from the air purification system to slowly come forth from the floor as the door raised ever too slowly.

The safe room took a long time to open, and so in an empty long corridor the two characters held off the onslaught.

The other agents eventually perished and and last the first door opened and they faced a second door. As the door behind them closed, many figures could be seen running inhumanly towards them. Leon and Ashley by now had empties their clips and waited for the end...

Finally, the door closed, and the undead banging on the door began. After a human scream outside it however, the attacks seemed to cease and footsteps could be heard moving away.  
...for now.

Then, a light mist sprayed over them from machines on the walls to sanitize them.

The second door opened and they looked through the room. A refrigerator, oven, pan, boxes of food, card table, wooden chairs and traditional item storage box could be seen. The two quickly collapsed in their chairs and tried coming to grips with what the hell just happened and figure out what to do next.

Light gas masks could be seen in the corner, and so they both took one."I'm going back out, looking for a way out." Leon said.

"I'm going with you." Ashley replied confidently. A little surprised, Leon shook his head. "I'm not a baby anymore Leon! I've been preparing every day in case something like this ever happened again. I don't want to be sitting around useless. I can take care of myself, and you! Just the same as you take care yourself and me."

Leon began to pace and talk aloud."Rescue isn't an option most likely; they'll be disinfecting and questioning forever with this being a restricted zone, and there is only enough food for a few days in here.  
At this they both check their phones to see no service, the main line hotspot likely destroyed with the power. "There's no way to get in touch with each other, if we are separated." No internet or wi-fi seemed available for their phones or the hideout computer either. This was in no possible way an accident or a cheap attack; a trained professional terrorist with access to bio organic weapons did this, killing all these people for whatever reason.

"Neither on of is could afford to stay here even if we wanted to." Ashley added. "I know how the government works; as soon as they can they'll probably want to either ditch and quarantine or nuke this place. We both have to get out of here now! Together... or well never survive all this alone."

"sigh...OK, you are right!" Leon said reluctantly, as Ashley's stressed face began to perk up... as much as it could under these circumstances.

"Now listen to me," Leon began. "You're still my responsibility alright? No buts! It's my job to get you out of here, so you need to do exactly as I say, alright? If I say run, you run. If I say hide, you hide. If I say shoot it, you shoot whatever... or whoever it is. Finally, if I say go, to leave me and save yourself...

"Leon!" Ashley said.  
"PROMISE ME Ashley!"  
Ashley just stood there again, starting to cry just a little bit, holding back tears and being tough.  
"We don't know what this virus does or can do. I won't have you risking your life for me if I get infected."

"But what if I..." Ashley was interrupted by Leon, placing his finger over her lips, looking down, unwilling to consider the possibility of the worst case situation, tearing up a little bit himself. Leon soon regained his composure, confidently wrapping it up with "Finally, and most of all,... Don't give up! We have both trained for it. I know how strong you've become! Never give up, ok?  
We can do this! Never. give. up."

Leon gave Ashley his knife to use and defend herself with along with her gun she found back. Leon reached into the large box and grabbed a rather large machete from inside the weapons locker. They prepared to leave with both hands on the door's hand scanners, waiting for confirmation from the other to start.

"Leon" Ashley said as he prepared to open the door, turning on his headset set to Ashley's frequency. He turned himself around and Ashley continued "What about my dad? And Ada?"  
"We'll worry about that when the time comes, but they'll be protected too with the secret service and training."  
Leon thought aloud, "It'll take some time before Air Force One is screened to take of. We'll make it."  
He turned back around as Ashley asked if he was sure. Turning his neck back to her, he replied "Absolutely. Now, are you ready."  
Ashley replies confidently "Yes."  
"Let's go."

Mission 2: Override the lockdown.

Some stray zombies remained on the top floor there. The erie moans flooded the dark powerless rooms while the remaining blue fog covered the floor.

The only way to reactivate the building to unlock the steel doors locking them in and escape the containment was to get into the control room back on the first floor.

Ashley and Leon dropped back down in the stairwell from which they had came before that collapsed, realizing that they would need each other to get back up. Actually able to look around now, the two noticed the second floor was much more open and modern, wooden instead of metallic, save for some equipment, computers and a safe in the different rooms. Some were office like buildings, while others were bunks and bedrooms. One doubled as both and based on the seal outside the door seemed to belong to the president, but the door was locked by a classic lock. Ashley and Leon were able to get through the other rooms ok, avoiding the stray zombies and conserving their limited ammo by only engaging those in their way. While they all seemed to just keep appearing like there was no end before, very few now were out at once.

"Remember, don't attack them unless you have to," Leon whispered "and go for the head whenever possible. If you can use your knife great, but only do so when they are stunned or don't notice you. Only run when you need to also."

Ashley and Leon were able to get into Ashley's room and collect her essentials, as well as a hair pin Leon believed he could use as a lock pick to get into the locked office. At this, however, two zombies busted into the room. They had to neutralize them before continuing. The floor seemed to creak and the undead began to grow restless, rushing up to them around corners. The stragglers would crawl on the ground and go for their ankles while others remained perfectly still and jumped into them upon getting too close.

The maze of debris and traps was hard to search an took time, but they were finally able to get back to the presidents office. Picking the lock, the door swung open as a zombie went for the picker. After being saved by the teamwork they found again after fou years or so, Leon checked again with Ashley to make sure try were ready for any surprises as to what just happened before they walked through that door. They wondered the office and quietly shut the door behind them, feeling safe as none of the gas seemed to enter through.

However, the three corpses rose from the ground and they turned around to find that the door they had used to enter through was locked.

After eliminating the resistance, they searched the office and found different notes and pictures, including the combination to a lock on the first floor that contained the armory. While very little weapons were kept there, lots of ammo was.

After collecting what they could, they found that a picture in the room that contained the code to the armory was an exact match to a picture in Ashley's room. They returned to find another code that opened the main level vault in the first aid room, containing sprays.

Less undead seemed to be on the second floor, but one or two undead secret servicemen were quite buff and looked like they would be more dangerous and harder to take down.  
Avoiding these, they picked the lock to the maintenance lab to find a generator. On the way down, they discovered the security room from earlier be locked with two key cards.

Now entering the main lobby and gathering room, the dead littered the first hallway, as one or two zombies would sprint up to meet the two lone survivors. Finally at the main room, they found a man had fallen into the fireplace. Checking his body, they discovered him to still be alive. Breathing heavily, he reveals that the president and a few others had managed to make it out alive and that Operation Free Bird was in effect.  
When he finally passed on before their eyes, Leon revealed that OFB was a biohazard measure that meant air force one and the other planes would be searched and sterilize for one hour before taking off, ensuring the presidents safety while taking proper precautions to ensure that a further biohazard would not begin.

Moving swiftly, they found their way to the kitchen where a fuel canister had come loose. A smaller one was seen upon further investigation and they decided to use it later to hot-wire the controls inside the security room so they could use the cards to open the currently powerless door.  
It was a rather large and heavy barrel that Leon had to carry, but Ashley was able to defend him. He could still bash the undead with the barrel, but it was best to avoid damaging it.  
Plus he realized how much Ashley liked keeping him safe for a change.

"My hero." He joked, kidding with Ashley as they used the coper wire they had found earlier with the gas to begin opening the hydraulics in the thick steel door.

They started to get the first obstacle out of their way.

_Mission 3: Power up the security doors._

A: Get the blue keycard

The door begin it however was still locked and would require emergency power to open, as well as the security cards. At least though they were able to get the panic door open without any of the main power.

So they began searching for a way to kick start the generator, as well as any clues as to the location of the card keys.

They entered the freezer to find nothing, but soon found the door to have been a one way! Angry, they tried to force it open but to no avail.  
This noise awoke three zombies concealed in the freezer frost. After beating them, they heard coughing and discovered a waiter still alive.

"I got ttttraped in here when I ran and hid from the zombies. Guess ssssome other people got in here befffffore me too. It all happened so ffffasttttt that I didn't notice them.  
Sssssorry."

"You look hurt." Ashley said in concern. "And you must be freezing." She began to approach him.

"Don't!" He yelled. "I got bit...I don't have much tttttime left. Please just sssshot me...get it over with." he pleaded.

"No" Leon insisted. "There must be a way out of here. Out of this freezer, into the security room and onto the plane before it takes off."

"There issss" Pierre the cook as he was called on his gold blood-covered name tag began. "One of the guardssss in the kitchen kkkkeps a cccardkey sssso we can ttttake ddddesssssertttsss..." He struggled to say as he continued. "...ttto the guardssss and workerssss."

"Thank you." Leon said respectfully, taking off his damaged suit jacket and wrapping it over the dying man.

"Anything elssssse I can hhhhelp you withhhh?" Pierre asked.  
They thought for a little bit.

"...do you have any of those cheesecake cookies left?" Ashley asked awkwardly.

"Ashley!" Leon asked shocked but with a chuckle in his voice. Pierre laughed to while coughing in pain.

"Ssssecond shelf tttto the leftttt" Pierre struggles with a gasp to say.  
Ashley went to help him but Leon stopped her short; there was nothing they can do.

"Itssss ffffunny" Pierre said weakly. "I tttthought I'd sssscrew up the ffffood on my bbbig bbbbreak at the ppparty." Ashley smiled and had one of the cookies, nodding her head in agreement strongly with what her taste buds were telling her.  
"Mmmm... Very good." She said sweetly and honestly. "Thank you."

"It'ssss nnnnice to knnnnow my llllast dissssh with the pppassssttttry... Cccchef was a gggoodddd...one." Pierre said as e took one final breath.

"Bbbbbonnnn...apppppa...teeeet..."

He was gone.

At this, however, the door burst into steel shards and slime yellow-green ooze covered the hole. Looking around, the looked for the culprit.  
Back to back. Leon pointed his gun and flashlight to all the corners while Ashley searched the floor with hers.  
Upon clearing this, she began too look up a the ceiling when she noticed a drop of slime on the ground that had freshly fallen. Than another drop fell, corroding the floor further away.

On the way out Ashley could barely breathe as the smell combined with the boiling flesh of a bleeding man whose face had fallen into a pot on the gas stove.  
As she past it however, the body sprung to life and dove for her!

"Ashley!" Leon yelled drawing his gun... Watching in horror as the cook's hat began to swell up into a large boil resembling his once white hat!

As he went to shoot however, Pierre dove in butting air to get to Leon's arm as a zombie!

Ashley was finall able to break free and push herself away down one isle while Leon flipped zombie Pierre per his shoulder. They both fired simultaneously. Leon's bullet hit close since he was closer and Pierre's reanimated body stopped moving instantaneously...as jus a split second later Ashley's bullet from further away went high on the cook and hit the Chef's hat-shaped boil...causing a huge explosion of acidic puss!

Thankfully, the two were far enough away to be uneffected.  
"We'll have to remember that one in case we see anymore like it." Leon said.

"Look!" Ashley exclaimed pointing!

She had noticed the body of a security officer on the floor by a rather large chef's corpse. They could see the blue card key shining in his coat pocket.

They rushed to get it when they saw the body recede closer to the dead chef. They heard knawing and soon realized it was coming from the undead cook!

"No!" Ashley exclaimed running for the card, but was too late an was stopped by Leon as the top half of the deceased agent's body entered the gaping mouth of the cook...who had begun to swell up to three times his normal weight and body fat!

He began sprinting in a tackle towards the two, landing head first right into an oven with his butcher knife in hand still wailing around.

"Leon!" Ashley pointed at the exposed coil from the lit gas oven.

A large fiery explosion erupted from the oven as burning pieces of flesh rained down from the ceiling... leaving the blue key card perfectly exposed.

"Got it!" Leon said.  
"Good...ew!l" Ashley exclaimed upon closer inspection of the wet red chunks on fire around her.  
"Let's get out before this meat starts cooking!"

B: Obtain the Red Keycard

The only rooms left were o. The way down to the basement. Leon and Ashley noticed a rather large metal security door that had dropped down over some sort of escape route!

"I never knew about this!" Leon exclaimed.

"Apparently somebody did." Ashley replied, pointing towards a rack of flashlights with two missing.

Taking a door to the right, they came to a sign that said Furnace.

As they entered however, they found themselves in a large maze of cool cement halls. Ashley began to tire from the enormity of the basement level and began to pant, holding herself up with her hands on her knees in exhaustion.

She slowly looked up to discover a blue monster with a long tongue and exposed brain. Ready to scream, Leon covered her mouth and whispered to walk away slowly because the Lickers were blind. This one seemed to still notice them and dropped down, reaching out on its' hind legs for a target, tentacles like its tongue reaching out. However, they were able to duck and avoid being touched and made there way through the tunnels.

Finally hey had reached the door and quickly shut it behind them suddenly overwhelmed by the massive difference in temperature, as well as the old dungeon-looking appearance of the furnace room.

They heard a creature scream as they drew their guns towards the noise. The sound came from a licker hanging from the ceiling that fell in front of the fiery chamber in the furnace. It's skin began to burn and smoke as it cried out in pain... Mutating into something much more ferocious.

As it rose to its' hind legs however, Leon noticed a blue needle dart injected into its neck like a tracker, and Ashley saw a red keycard hanging from a chain around the monsters teeth.

I could have the first Bloodshot fight by a furnace or something and watch a licker with a needle stuck in him transform.

"...and that's what happens when you leave your licked out in the heat kids!" Leon joked.  
"Any questions?"

Ashley replied rhetorically with "Yeah, how do we kill it?"

"The brain...no wait!" Leon added. Upon further investigation, he noticed the monsters' chest cavity seemed to open and close with each breath, revealing the monsters core.  
"The heart! Aim for the heart!"

Upon shooting the hulk down, they found the card on him and took their keys back down to open up the room.

Upon entering, they were able to restore power, but required the presidential green card to reverse the lockdown. At this, the dead man in the control room came back to life and atacked them, tripping over and braking their item used to power the door, forcing it shut. This zombie seemed to regenerate bullet and knife damage extremely quickly. Ashley discovered a vent and with Leon's help was able to kick it open.  
She emerged back outside and dodged undead to use the cards again on the one way door to free Leon, giving her an idea in where else to look for the presidents card. Back in the office from earlier, Leon quietly opened up another vent door and pushed Ashley up it into a room with another regenerate zombie in it.

Mission 4: Use the final green President's card to restore total power and lift the lockdown.

Picking up the card on the floor, she slid back down and the two lone survivors made their way back down to the control room. Sadly, they saw in the outside camera monitor that the airplanes had begun to take of and that the last to prepare to leave was Air Force One! Ashley's father, the outgoing president seemed to be fighting with the secret service to wait an go back, searching for his missing daughter and others. Try quickly used the card and the doors.

Mission 5: Evacuate the lodge building before it explodes!

At this, a self-destruct system had begun and they found hems elves with little time to escape. They returned to the main floor to find a secret code was required from the presidents' safe room they had gotten the green card from to open it an escape. At this, a regenerate zombie appeared and attacked, but a grenade was found lying there an was shoved into its' mouth and it was pushed backwards, eliminating the monster and obliterating it totally.

Ashley and Leon got grenades from fallen bulk zombies, the arms room, the first aid vault, and some from the freezer to dispose of other zombies that regenerated like this one did. So, Ashley crawled back up the vent in the presidents' office and used the grenade in the zombie there, jumping back down before it exploded. Then she returned to the small room through the same vent before it broke and collapsed. She found the code on the door and undid the two locks with the other two codes from the medic room and armory that matches two other codes scribbled an etched into the walls with the note that contained the master password.

She rejoined Leon downstairs as the second floor staircase gave way and she pulled herself up. She used the code first in the camera security room to lite the first green light downstairs and finally returned to the locked final door to enter the code and light the second light.

As they ran out the door, the building engulfed in flames and they fell to the ground. In the distance, the group at Air Force One saw it and this gave the president the release from his guardians' grip to run back towards it. As other S S pursued him, the ma. In charge ordered them to start the plane and prepare for launch.

Mission 6: Flee to the Air Force One runway in the Jeep before takeoff.

Ashley and Leon came too hearing the sounds of flames and footsteps.  
They looked a round on the ground to see clawed feet of a hunched over monster, sniffing around like the Licker with its own tentacles from its peeling orange skin and large claws on its three fingered hands dangling from it and roaring as it reached with a slash towards the ground.  
With quick thinking and reaction time, Leon and Ashley shot it in the forehead, killing it instantly.  
Another licker came from behind them and they were able to roll the corpse of the Hunter the had just killed forward to block the incoming threat. After staving its brain, Leon and Ashley got the rest of the way up and looked to see the air field lit up in the far distance. Helping Ashley up and picking up his hatchet, Leon sprinted towards his car in the distance, a jeep unit by the terror.

Ashley an Leon held their arms out shooting with their pistols at the incoming threats, as hunters chased them, Lickers fell from trees and zombies were running toward them from the front, only to be run over, hitting the windshield and spraying the car with a red must, Leon turning on the windshield wash and wipers to see again. Eventually, the fluids ran out and in vain the wiper blades gave up. As Leon wiped the screen clean with his hands an Ashley with her cloth glove, they came to a sudden stop, just as Leon saw the tree they hit through. A clean spot in the glass wasn't enough to save them,  
But two agents that ran over from the nearby Air Force One plane was!

The two were carried off over their shoulders as the plains began to take off. Leon looked out to see his car explode. Ashley too looked out and saw a figure waving its arms in the distance. Reaching out and screaming in a state of shock, the guards pulled her in, not noticing the strange "bubbles" under the plane.

The plane had been flying in the air for several hours now. Far from the U. S., they were seeking for a aircraft carrier to take them so they could be screened carefully for the virus or any other related infection before being brought back into home.

Ashley awoke in Leon's arms, her head on his opposite soldier as he held her. "Hey" he said "We made it."  
She smiled weakly and said "Thank you...Leon." "I owe you my life so..."  
Leon cut her of saying "Hey, you did great out there too, ya'know. I couldn't have gotten out there at all without your help. Thank YOU!"  
She smiled back at him, proud, and glad to be safe in the hands of such a friend and great man, whom she knew would prevail over all else for her and could never let her down or let any harm come to her. She was really going to miss him now that their adventure was over and her fathers term was up. She needed to find a boyfriend like that, all these year she had been single preparing and helping the campaign and sponsoring the new president with her father and...her father.

She began to frown and just lay there in Leon's arms unable to relax, thinking and noticing Leon's wounds on his chest, likely front he crash.  
She noticed him wrapped up in a vest used to block off melee attacks and knives and other blades. She too had changed and now had on a pink camp hoodie tan pants, showing off her ankles and sneakers that matched her sweatshirt. She too ha in a vest, this one seemed design to protect in the event of a crash or explosion.

Unfortunately, it would come in handy...

Earlier, but sadly, later too.

Finally, she got up the courage to ask "Where's my dad, Leon?" Unsure how to answer her and looking for a way out or around, he soon found one as they experienced sudden turbulence in the plane and soon the lights began to flicker. She looked outside at the India to see skinny, goblin-like creatures crawling around and towards them, cables in their mouthed and scratching deep marks into Ar Force One. The plane began to call out mayday do any nearby craft, before the pilot was pulled through the glass by the goblin in front and and bitten, only to be flung out into the jet engine and cause an explosion. The copilot in being pulled up on the wheel with one hand and shot at the creature roaring at him with his pistol. His mouth backed away an it seemed all of a sudden the creatures kept up and lifted up into the atmosphere. At this, silence came tithe cabin as the plane started to actually level out, but then began to rock and a giant goblin seemed to form underneath the plane bubbling as if it had just been born from several fused goblins just now.

Now, winged BOW's began to appear tethered to the creature and their wings flapped as three clawed tails reached through the windows and pulled out one or two agents, some resorting to an fire but only to be ate and stripped of their weapons as they fell down into the water below.

Mission 7: Fight of the flying BOW's  
The plane explodes if it takes too much damage.

Leon in strapped an crawled with Ashley in his arms, clenching to him in a state of shook. He grunted in pain as his chest began to bleed from his wounds and he struggled to pull free of a winged creature, as he kicked it forward just in time for it to fall through the crack in the roof of the plane and fly off into nothing.  
As it descended to crash, Leon just barely shoul Ashley into a side door compartment, defending her with his gun and knife before handing them to her at the last minute and closing the door before impact, shielding her with his body on the door as more BOW's clawed at him before blowing away, as Leon looked back at the giant and other creatures rising up, yet skin and bones carrying theme to safety, or at least a postponed death as the singed creatures clawed into the goblins and seemed to fuse to them in a bubbly boil as the goblins did this to their giant mother. Finally, Leon looked ahead as the front of the plane tore away and revealed the woods that they would crash into.q

"Good Luck, Ashley" he whispered.

The man felt like he had barely any time to blink as this beautiful woman, the first one more like him that he had seen in a long time, began to faint, most likely at the sight of him and his red eyes. He quickly tried to snap out of his adrenaline rush from the fight, closing his red glowing eyes and shaking his head until he felt like they were back to a normal color. Then he quickly reached his hand out an darted for Ashley.

It seemed to last forever to him, but to Ashley if she were conscious it probably would have looked almost instantaneous as this man shook his head and races towards her, catching her just before she hit the ground.

"Always wanted to do that." The man thought upon catching this damsel in distress.

He gently put her into one of the chairs and placed a blanket on her, as she was shivering still with fear. She seemed to relax at his touch (which felt incredibly good to him as well to touch another "human being") as she drifted off into a proper state of sleep.

She certainly was cute, the way her lips held partially yet ever so slightly open as she breathed during her rest...

This stranger snapped out of it and began to recollect his thoughts. Soon enough, all too soon, she would be awake, and if she remembered him,... and his face... she was sure she would have a ton of questions. He would have to be careful as not to startle her. Of course, he wanted to be honest as well.

Even he had trouble believing his own story...what he could remember of it anyway.

He had been here for six months now. He was most certainly more than welcome there but even now still felt like an outsider. He had trouble making real friends and was never able to meet an "interested" women yet. Maybe him meeting someone more white like him and where he came from would be the best thin for him right now...if e ever did decide to wave and pursue the truth about his real origins... As well as how a man like him became "like them" and ended up here in the first place.

But where did he come from? One thing was for certain, while e was like his brothers and sisters of the village, he was so much more... It scared him, and no doubt pit fear into those around him, those who could relate to him and were not quite human anymore either.

So how would this sweet Ashley girl react?

Chapter 2: Deja Vu  
Pete "Action" and Ashley

Sobbing, the screen fades into Ashley in the grey wreckage, hunched over Leon's body.

She placed his gun in his hand before folding his arms over the body she had embraced just moments ago.

"I'll never give up; I promise." she wept as she took the knife she had been given by him and close his open dead eyes.

She had gathered the ammo from the other agents and was now outside in these strafe woods on a foggy morning, kneeling as she hacked away at wood she had gathered with Leon's hatchet from the Camp David.

She fought with the flint and steel as it grew late before finally giving in and using a match to start the fire.

As she curled up there, she was not alone. A figure up on the mountain like jagged hill with a red wide brimmed had and green jacket look down on her. He had bright red eyes and a dark red bandana over his mouth. His jeans were blue denim and e did not seem very old, but was no kid either. He mixed his binoculars and looked down on her, not with lust, but curiosity and concern. She seemed fully capable, but with the woods here as rough as they had been lately, would she be ok? He grabbed his hunting riffle and began to follow heras she set of for more firewood.

Mission 1: Collect Firewood for the night.

Down below, a pile of wood was being made by logs Ashley gathered and carried over. Separately, the man watching here gathered logs and when she was not looking, he dropped them down. Ashely seems partly delirious as she does not notice the extra logs, or when she in counters a coyote and fights it of her the snippet shots from her guardian angel go unnoticed. She is emotional and going through the motions, but is still tough and not about to die on herself. She shook her head, bit wanting to break the promise she had made to Leon.

Ashley still has a pistol from earlier and finds a now and arrow along the trails, apparently left by another. Henry, the young man watching over her has a Russian style gun and scoped bolt-action riffle. In his cave, there is also a shotgun in a metal box that can be accessed during the mission to protect and help Ashely.

Once the firewood is gathered, the screen changes to show it being late at night with the fire going strong, the man closer now but still in the distance.

Poor Ashley is so drained from loosing her father and Leon they she doesn't seem to react to the howls in the night or growling of what seems like normal dogs out there in the woods.

"Action" (Pete) as he is called for the action on a gun is watchful, searching the woods with keen eyes.

Eventually, a snap of the twigs nearby wakes Ashley, as she steps out of her sleeping bag clenching her gun to investigate...

Mission 2: Defeat the Cerebrus infected hounds.

...when four or five, maybe six infected dogs appear. These are different from the parasite coyote Ashley had come close to years ago, and seem about the size of fairly large animal crates seemingly dropped from the sky into the ground from earlier in the woods.

As Ashley cringes and the dogs fly forward, a young man drops down with his gun and blasts a whole into the animal as it falls to the ground, teeth wide open still trying to bite with its muscles twitching aimlessly.

Ashley falls down on her butt, a streak of blood on her chin, as the gun reloads, ejecting the cartridge as on the side a dog comes running in around Action by the plane and along the path towards Ashley as she screams. Still with his gun pointed to the right and his elbow out parallel to his left, he fires another shot, just nipping the dogs nose and forcing it back, going for Action as he ducks and the dog flies forward past him.  
Action wields the gun and moves his left hand from left to right, moving the gun into the proper location and meeting up with his right hand as the arms meet and the gun switches places, all the while shooting three times and hitting his marks on the dogs coming in from the distance, holding the gun up to his left cheek as the dogs move in, the crashed plane visa lie from behind him, three more Cerebrus hounds howl and Action turns around briefly, facing forward to shoot another dog coming and blindly fires into the air as two of the three dogs from on top o the plane circle around.

The third dog falls from the sky above him and lands dead, immobile a many number of dogs remain still from shots, just crawling up and standing their barking.

After Ashley joins in and the dogs are killed, Action turns toward her and holds out his hand, she hesitate, and as her arm reaches out for his another dog comes running and he turns away for Ashley towards it. Pulling her up with one hand, he shoots the dog with his left again, clearly able to fire from onehand.  
As the dog backs away and roars, a parasitic film emerges from its mouth. As Ashley begins to reach for Action for comfort, Action literally roars back at the dog! Scaring it away with its own parasitic mouth life bursting toward it, Ashley sees this from the back and faints as Action turns around to catch her.  
She passes out, unsure and unable to comprehend what she thought she might have seen.

Ashley wakes up the next day shocked from what she believed a dream and pointing her gun eery which way. There are no corpses in sight, either moved away from their empty leafless spots or not existing in the first place. She notices her gun is still fully loaded and her sleeping bag zipped, but the chicken eggs she found and her box of ammo aren't where she remembers putting them.

More alert and awake, she wonders now how Lon she ha been lot here in these woods. Could she really be loosing it like this? How long at this rate would she last? Leon...and dad.  
She had to.. Her thoughts were interrupted with more rustles in the woods as she crawled forward to her gun.

Familiar funny fixes an words could be heard r from the grey forest, it seemed.

"It's only my imagination... Only my-  
Ahhhhh!"

From the woods came those people...those things from long ago. For years had done nothing to her memory of those terrible things.  
How could she... How could anyone forget...  
The Ganados!

She quickly took of from her sleeping bag and camping spot running, her shoes still of and back at camp!  
They continues to pursue her, as her foot slipped in the mud, she recovered and pressed on, as did he

...above on the mountains the man ran vigorously alongside her, looking on he sweated an panicked, tryin to get in front of them before it was to late for her.

A dog, friendly enough, barked out and ran beside her, leading her off trail as a butterfly landed on a tripwire that set if explosives where Ashley would have ran!

She jumped into the shallow creek and watched her balance as she pressed on in this ditch. But the dog was barking again. She turned to look but saw him, Action from her dream last night waving his arms towards her...so, it wasn't a dream!

She kept running down the creek as she passed a red skull sigh without noticing. Soon she felt a rumble as the villagers neared.

The rumbling seemed to be comming from behind her as the creek led to a flight of big stairs. She looke up to see against the mountain that something large seemed to be coming towards her, rolling...  
A BOLDER!?  
She screamed an ear shattering scream that seemed to even get to the villagers on the bridge above, as well as back at their houses as their tension of chores was broken by a familiar sounding scream from long ago.

She sprinted away and the man from before leaped onto the bolder, running against it the opposite way.  
He was slowing it down...  
A human voice said "duck out of the way" and so she did as he grabbed onto the rope bridge above him. She looked around and briefed a deep sigh of relief, but felt more of a breeze on her from high up like a steady gust. She turned around to see, a trollish being easily eight feet high and as wide a a house!  
She gulped. Flickig her big eyes in the settling grey dust from the bolder, she slowl began to move away, as did the troll, El Gigante, following her.

Soon her pace and voice increase and she was wailing as she waved her arms like she was on fire.

Soon the villagers pointed at her over a hillside and she sharply changed directions. Action saw his, swinging down to the ground and swooping forward on a tree vine.

The sight was one to behold as he and the dog saw a wailing blond girl chased by a grey troll walking as a mob of villagers with hachets, siccles and pitchforks in pursuit.

Action held himself up with his hands on his legs, tired as the dog wines.

Ashley continued to run off the beaten trail as the dog ran ahead and barked. She took the different path, away from the concealed spike traps and animal traps that could easily sever her bare feel in their state.

As the dog barks, Ashley waved her arms past it at full speed, the troll steadily followe behing, the mob of vilifies gave further chase, and slowly but finally Action slowly walked past, panting deeply. Looking down at the sight again he saw a shortcut falling down into the dead end valley and he took it.

Ashley was against the stone wall awaiting her doom when Pete "Action" slid down the hill jumping of the trolls head as it swung it's arms down at the ground in front of Ashley and as the villagers surrounded her Action landed off to the side and threw his Sickle out in front of Ashley to block the wooden plank thrown at her from a particularly grumpy viliger win yellow eyes. As they all got in close to er with this weapons even te troll with a giant Sickle in a sheathe on its' back. Action stepped in front of Ashley yelling in Spanish and waiving his arms.

After a long dramatic music pause showing up close views of Ashley, Action, the villagers, the trolls, and even the sig's face, the mob crowd suddenly...

"Awwwwww" they went in a loud sigh and began to drop their weapons and slowly walk away. Ashley looked in rubbing her morning hair rad puzzle while Action put his hand to his sides in triumph.

As they left, a jointer gentleman with frizzy brownish red hair and a blue buttoned shirt kicked a small metal bucket along the way. While the pail was punished, an older woman in a ninety with warts kicked a football forward.

Finally, the grumpy man with yellow eyes and a brown sweater vest saw one of the chickens and viciously kicked it out of the way, just as a big grey foot from the El Gigante crushed him, moaning on his way back to El Pueblo.

Ashley just stood there puzzled for a while at Action. This man was like them, but he seemed to really care and saved her life a few times. She remembered long ago when she vowed thy she would never turn into on of "them", thinking them all mindless slaves to the terrorist, but just maybe, things were a little different now. She could trust him...  
...with he life? He was kind of cute for a monster, his red hair...  
...no; he wasn't a monster, and she felt really bad for thinking that just now and acting the way she did last night and today simply because he was different. Different...  
"Uh, hi...thank you. You saves my life.  
Again" he seemed to smile, closing his eyes happily at hearing this. Wait...  
"Can you, understand me!?"  
He nodded, confidently.  
"Wow, I, do you often talk to people like me?" He shook his head.  
"I guess I could use your help, but..."  
She looked away shyly remembering all she had been through four years ago, and now with this cutie helping her.  
"I'm sorry; I just... Well...Promise you won't eat me?"  
He sadly shocked stepped forwar as she stepped back, but then she heard growling. It came from...  
...his stomache. He seemed to blush, looking down at his tummy...

Ashley felt something she hadn't felt in a while now... joy?  
She felt sorry but she couldn't help it after all of this and so she busted out laughing. Tears were in her eyes and she wrapped up herself in her arms, holding her face and gut and shook her head, as she couldn't stop...

Action stop there a little puzzled. She looked really cute laughing, but he couldn't tell I'd it was at him or...

"I'm sorry, haha, I'm real sorry, I couldn't, hehe, I didn't mean to laugh at you. (sigh of relief) I really needed that laugh though. Thank you!" she smiled. It sent butterflies down his stomach as he looked on at her smiling face.

She held out HER hand and said.  
"Hi, my name is Ashley! It's really nice to meet you." her eyes closed in a smile and with joy, Action reached his hand out. "Ac-tion... My names  
Pete, but...you can...call me Action."  
"Sure Action!" she smiled. "Pete... that's a nice name too; it's sweet.  
But I can try to remember Action if you want."  
Action smiled. "O-kay"  
They smiled at each other as their hands met. Now neither one's world seemed so dark, as light shined down.


End file.
